


Cold hands (but no cold heart here)

by Chyrstis



Series: You'll be okay, I promise [11]
Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22423666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chyrstis/pseuds/Chyrstis
Summary: She wasn’t built for the cold. But with him, she didn’t have to be.
Relationships: Sharky Boshaw/Female Deputy | Judge
Series: You'll be okay, I promise [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428766
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Cold hands (but no cold heart here)

**Author's Note:**

> An excuse to write a little semi-winter fic lead to this, and it might've grown a bit beyond where the original idea might've gone. Hope you all enjoy!

She wasn’t built for the cold.

In Detroit she could’ve better prepared for it. Learned how to handle it like a reasonable human being if she’d been able to live there longer than a handful of years, but she hadn’t been that lucky. She went south. Traveled with her mother to warmer climates, and learned how to better weather heatwave after heatwave, rather than the odd sixty degree and below day.

It was miserable when those days hit. Burrowing into her jacket, Hana had tried to tough it out. Insisted she was doing alright, when in reality she badly wanted a heavier coat or a sweater, and latched onto her warmer friends as a result.

She did not think this through before moving to Montana. 

Montana. The land of mountains, snow, and temperatures that would make any warm-blooded southerner weep.

As the resident southern transplant, Hana had begged Sharky to set up a campfire when they found a good spot for one, and nearly wept at the heat coming off of it. Rubbing her hands together, she kept them over the fire, and soaked in every last bit of warmth she possibly could.

“Geez, Dep. You really digging it that much?”

Mid-sigh, she closed her eyes, and smiled. “You have no idea. I’ve been suffering out here.”

“Suffering? It’s…what, kinda cool, but not like we’re heading into winter?”

When she opened her eyes, Sharky was still squinting over at her, his attention squarely on her hands, and she wiggled her fingers at him. If anything, that made him stare harder, and she snorted.

“My hands are telling me a different story.”

“Yeah, it’s real nice out right now. Prime weather for a cookout, or a little down-home barbeque.”

“If you’re a living furnace.” And to be fair, if anyone was, it’d be him. “Vouch for me here, Grace.”

The other woman didn’t speak up immediately. Focused on her gear, Grace glanced up only long enough to meet her gaze across the fire. “He’s right.”

Her mouth fell open. “What?”

“Though I guess if you wanted to-“ Sharky stopped, and turned towards Grace as well, his own face frozen in shock. “Say what, Grace?”

“Weather’s nice, won’t argue that. Think you’d like the excuse to have a barbeque all year round, though.”

“Well, not all year. You take a break to smoke meat, or roast it. Maybe fry it, though our bird bomb didn’t go over so well that one year, so I think we’re off the hook for that.” He tossed some jerky into his mouth, and chewed on it loudly as he mulled Grace’s words over. “…But you ain’t wrong.”

“The police reports aren’t either,” Hana said, biting her lip.

The bag of jerky Sharky had just held out to her was promptly withdrawn. “I thought we were friends, H.”

That was straight-up dirty pool. “Oh no, you aren’t-“

“’Cause this was my sharing bag. The kind you keep close by for a bro so they don’t go and starve, but all I’m hearing is law talk and paperwork over there.”

Holding it out over towards Grace, Hana gasped as the other woman took the bag.

“See?” Sharky said, gesturing between them. “Bros.”

Grace handed the bag to her right after, and one look at Sharky’s face sent her straight into a laughing fit. One whole wheezing, doubled-over-and-holding-her-sides fit, and by the time she was able to look over at him through her tears, he’d settled back in his seat with a scowl.

“Shark. _Shark_ , hon, don’t be like that, okay?”

Wiping at her eyes, she gave him the bag. Nudged him in the arm with it as he groused, and knew she was pouting a little herself.

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to be mean. You know you’re the best bud around, right? And I’d buy you a truck-load of jerky, if I could. Hell, there has to be at least one cult supply truck full of this stuff driving around.”

He snuck a quick glance at her. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I’d hijack that truck for you.” She held up her fingers. “Two trucks.”

A small smile started to creep onto his face. “We might be looking at a three truck minimum here.”

“…How about four?”

“Four?” He lit right up, and she couldn’t help but do the same. “Shit, we might be looking at a deal there, shorty.”

She held out her hand, and after a quick shake, she felt the tension subside. Even managed to snag a piece of jerky as well – a probationary peace offering of sorts that Sharky was all too serious about as she took it – and they all settled into silence after that.

She returned her hands to the fire after a few minutes, however, savoring that flash of heat.

“Seriously?”

“No dice, hon. I could be holding these over a lava flow and they’d still find a way to be cold.”

“No shit?” Sharky took her hands in his, and his eyebrows flew up. “Okay, that’s…that’s pretty damn cold. Like I could hand you something only to come back to it being ice cold soon after.”

“Really now?” she asked, feeling her cheeks warm.

The brief brush with the handshake was nothing compared to this. Moving her hands around in his grip, she pressed her palms to his. Got as much contact as she was able to, and wished the gloves weren’t between them.

“Yeah, you’re like the best portable fridge. Perfect for chilling with, doesn’t mind travel so you can roll out and go whenever you want, and…is just all-around super cool like that.“

His hands stayed clasped around hers, both absurdly warm as they chased off the chill her fingerless gloves did jack to protect against. But when he started rubbing them lightly, somehow managing to warm the rest of her in the process, she cleared her throat.

“Super cool?”

“Yeah, super cool,” he replied, without batting an eye. “Ain’t that right, Grace?”

The rasp of a laugh from nearby made Hana’s eyes snap right to her. But it was too late. Her face was burning with a vengeance, and one look at their linked hands only made it ten times worse.

Tugging her hands away, Hana hopped up. “Think we’re due for a perimeter check.”

“What? We just did one ten minutes ago-“

She grabbed her rifle and made a beeline straight for the bushes.

She heard him calling after her, only a few feet out as she kept on going, and hoped like hell that by the time he caught up, she’d be back to normal.

Because this? This was starting to get a little ridiculous.

* * *

Heading north, the three kept on moving until the sun dipped low in the sky. That meant needing a place to set up camp, and for once their luck seemed to be looking up.

Up ahead, she’d caught the place with her binoculars. It was a smaller house, one that showed some signs of damage on the outside, but hadn’t been torched. While approaching it, Grace guided them forward. Motioned for them to stay quiet as they moved, keeping their weapons at the ready.

That lasted all of five minutes when Hana climbed through the open window only to hear something shatter nearby.

Creeping into what appeared to be the living room, she groaned when she spotted Sharky messing around with a ceramic figurine. Trying to fit the head of it back onto its torso, he fumbled at it, only to drop it when he caught her eye.

Jabbing a finger towards the other end of the house, she didn’t say a thing. Just pointed as Sharky gave her a sheepish look, and urged him to keep moving.

In the end, it was clear.

That made relief sink right into her, and once the three met up back in the living room, they quickly hashed out a plan for the night. Shifts, where to sleep, and noting any points of entry.

All points but the first they knocked out in less than thirty minutes. But the minute that was done, before Sharky could say a single word, she held up her hands and issued a challenge.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Their usual go-to to settle any and all shift arguments, and after the last few nights of peace, she’d seen the glint in his eye. He’d been biding his time, waiting to see if she’d try to call dibs early. When she didn’t, and he failed to call it in turn, they both dove right in with their first set of choices.

Midway through her and Sharky’s second round, however, Grace intervened. “We doing this again?”

“Yes,” Hana said, matching Sharky’s paper with her own. “Well, the two of us are, because we’ll never be able to get shift assignments down otherwise, but if you want in, winner’ll gladly take you on.”

Things grew quiet after that. The only sound around coming from them slapping their hands together, both matching their picks and swearing in the process.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed Grace’s tapping foot. Chancing a look her way, Hana took in her crossed arms and drawn expression, and felt her motions begin to slow down until they reached a complete halt.

Grace shook her head. “Sharky? Take first.”

He stopped, his scissors outclassed by the rock Hana was wielding, and groaned. “Seriously?”

“I get what you two are trying at, but we don’t have time to waste doing this. You want second?”

Sharky frowned, but after thinking it over shook his head. “Nah, I’ll do it. Least it’ll get it out of the way so I can snag some Zs after.”

“Well, if he’s doing first, I’ll take second.”

“Third it is.” Grace tilted her head towards Hana. “You two really want to do this every time?”

“Not every time,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “But if I call dibs first, that’s non-negotiable.”

“Which ain’t cool at all, Dep,” Sharky muttered.

“You’ve done it too! Sometimes before we’ve even left the damn car to check to see if it’s even worth staying at a place.”

“Only ‘cause I know you’ll spring it on me later. Taking advantage of the fact that I’m set on doing the max amount of boogying only for you to call it right when it’s getting good? That’s just low.”

He was miffed. Genuinely miffed at her over this, and she gaped at him. “You aren’t serious.”

“Uh, I’m pretty fucking serious. ‘Specially when it means you’re the one getting the drop on some cool shit happening, having all the badass moments anyone could ever ask for, and I’m in the next room doing nothing, and I can’t even take my pants off-“

“You’re _sleeping_. People need to do that.”

“But I wanna have your back on that. Maybe even get in some sweet back to back action too, before any of the Peggies give us the runaround, ‘cause you know we’d kick ass at it.”

“Hon, I mean it. You really aren’t missing out on much.”

She didn’t know what face he was making, but knew the frustration she gave off wasn’t helping in the slightest.

“Jesus, Shark. It’s not like I always win these things! I mean, you’re the reason why we have the whole two out of three thing going to begin with, and-“

Hana stopped. 

Noticing the sudden Grace-shaped gap in the room, she took a quick look around and couldn’t find a single trace of her.

“…We weren’t that bad, were we?” Hana asked, shooting Sharky a nervous glance.

“Nah, didn’t think we were. Would’ve won this one, though.”

“Oh? You really think so?”

“Wouldn’t even need two out of three,” he said, smirking right at her. “I’d get that shit in one. Right out the gate.”

She narrowed her eyes. When she made no move to restart the game, Sharky waggled his eyebrows at her, and she felt her fingers twitch.

“Don’t tempt me, Boshaw.”

“You know you wanna.” With that tone he’d clearly missed the memo. “I’ll trade you if you win. Give you all of the dibs you could ever want or call. All first, no contest.”

Good thing she was set on ignoring it too. “None?”

“Not a single one, scout’s honor,” he said, holding up a hand. “Not that I got through much of the whole badge-earning business and shit, but learning to start fires, chop wood, and tie a rope’s enough to give me a free pass to use that once. Maybe even twice.”

Hana whipped out her hands, setting her fist in her open palm, and his face lit up in delight.

Their choices came quick, hers lingering a beat behind as she watched him. Taken more than a little by the grin he was wearing, she slapped down the first thing that popped into her mind.

Paper.

The V Sharky made with his fingers hovered in front of him as he snipped the air, and she dug her teeth right into her lip.

_“Fuck.”_

“Better luck next time, Dep.”

* * *

It wasn’t a large house, so having to cover one floor wasn’t tough.

The tough part all came down to settling in, reinforcing both the front and rear entrances, making sure their weapons were close enough to grab – and in her case, not freezing to death. But that was more of a personal problem than anything else.

Much as she missed the campfire from the morning, there was no point in starting one nearby. Not with the lack of trees offering cover, and the odds of the fire being caught by anyone traveling on the nearby road.

Blankets were set down in one of the rooms in the back, and after staking a claim on the warmest quilt in the house, Hana took up a spot near Grace, wished Sharky luck, and tried to sleep. That was the hardest part by far. Telling her body that it was okay to relax, and to close her eyes and ignore every small little sound, while repeating that pledge over and over.

Scraping together an hour or two of sleep was better than nothing, but it was adding up. She’d been sluggish before, and her stint on Nick’s couch should’ve been a major wake up call, but that didn’t shut her brain up. That didn’t make the tension settle out whenever a nearby twig was snapped.

So, she laid there. Forced her eyes to stay shut, and tightened her fingers in the blanket as the seconds ticked by.

When she’d been given a light shake to wake her up, she jolted. With bleary eyes she’d taken in her surroundings before flashing Sharky a thumbs up, and braced herself for the world outside of her mini cocoon.

Leaving that warmth sucked, but she adjusted fast. This was a better use of her time for now, letting her pour the nervous energy into something that kept her moving. Kept her thinking as she settled outside, and lit up a cigarette.

Time passed. Hana burned through one cigarette, then two, watching and waiting as the clouds drifted by overhead. Without the stars or the moon, she had nothing to track. Only kept her eyes out for any lights in the distance, hoping that if anyone was going to come by to clear this place out they’d have already done it.

Pacing around, she stuck close. Felt an actual shiver run through her as she crouched down low so she could get proper cover, and rubbed her hands together. Moving helped. Burned a little energy from the endless well her nerves tried to supply her with, and stored the rest just in case she actually needed it.

The grass swayed with the wind, drawing her eye as it moved, and she drew in an unsteady breath. Checking the watch she’d been passed, she swiped at the face of it with her thumb as the seconds counted up to sixty, then began all over again.

Tick, tick, tick.

Traveling in a circle, she idly noted the position of the hands before going back to the sky. Took another set of puffs off of her cigarette, waited, then looked back down at the watch when she’d finished counting the stars hanging up above her head.

Tapping at the face with her finger, she squinted at it closely and felt her eyes widen.

Ten past. Ten minutes past when she was supposed to get Grace, and at least ten minutes spent zoning out, registering nothing when a group could’ve been closing in on them.

Rubbing at her face, she gave the outside one last scan, and made her way back inside.

It didn’t take much to rouse Grace. Just a few words spoken close to her side – never a shake, or a touch – and Grace gave her a quick glance before getting up.

_Trouble?_

Hana shook her head at the unspoken question. _Nope, none to speak of_.

With that answered, Grace took her rifle, geared up after taking the offered watch, and disappeared through the doorway.

Knowing Grace was watching them now, the tension started to ebb away. Bled right out as Hana set her things to the side, and dragged the blanket with her, burrowing back down into her spot from before.

But now she was back to square one.

Blinking against the dark, she sighed. Flopped over, testing the position to see if it’d work, only to feel everything curl under her wrong. She rolled over, giving the blanket a harsh pull to re-wrap it around her, and huffed when it didn’t feel any more comfortable than before.

Rolling back over, she heard something move nearby. Lifting her head, she saw Sharky wind his arms tighter around himself, as his snoring tapered off. He didn’t stay still for long, however. It was a small tremor, but it ran through him as he laid there, the sheet he’d picked too thin to do much to help.

Scooting closer to him, she tugged out the edge of her blanket, and tossed it towards him.

He started when the heavier material hit. But after a second of moving around and blinking at her, he shucked the sheet off and scooted in so he could tuck the blanket around himself too.

“Hands still cold, Dep?” He’d half-mumbled the words, not awake enough to really jump up and go, but was responding to her at the moment.

Hana made a face, feeling her fingertips tingle until Sharky reached over and tucked one hand against his side. His hoodie had ridden up enough for her to touch his skin directly, and it was so damn warm she sighed in relief instantly.

He flinched at the contact, though. “Yeah, still cold.”

“Not like Montana’s decided to get any warmer,” she shot, but kept her voice low.

His small smile grew, and he wiggled closer so her arm wasn’t hanging in the air between them. That put him close enough now to have it tucked along his side, covered by both his hoodie and the extra blanket she’d tossed over him. 

Maybe a foot was between them at best, but she wasn’t checking. Or really bothered by it either. Just amused at how they’d gone from sleeping within the general vicinity of each other to practically sharing the same space. A few added inches would turn her pillow into their pillow, and even now his cheek was practically resting on it.

And with her hand still up his shirt, at that. He’d initiated the contact, not bothered in the slightest by any of it, and she almost wanted to laugh. 

_Seriously, is he just that damn-_

_No._

No, she didn’t need any of her thoughts going in that direction right now. That wasn’t going to help in the slightest.

So, she focused on him instead. Watched Sharky’s face as she traced her fingers along his side, watching his nose twitch as he breathed. Not quite snoring like he’d done before, but breathing deep. Slow, and steady with each one, even as her hand slid to his lower back.

That got a hum out of him. The sound pleasant in a way that made her face flush, and she quickly shifted her hand back into place.

The movement made his brows furrow, however, and he stretched. “Mmm, how you doing now?”

Pinching her lips shut, Hana swallowed the lump that had found its way to her throat.

He cracked open his eyes to look at her, and she considered taking her hand back, but couldn’t do it. Not when he really was every bit as warm as she wished she was.

“Better,” she said, half-rasping at him. “Easy to say when I’ve got my own portable space heater next to me, though.”

Sharky tapped a finger against his forehead. “See? I know my shit. Also remembered you saying your hands get cold easy, so…”

Chewing on her lip, she gave him a shy smile. “Still got one free, you know.”

“Got what free?”

“A hand.” Bringing her other arm out from under her pillow, she gave him a small wave. “Missing one there, bud.”

“Aw, shit,” he said, concern crossing him. “Let me get right on that.”

Taking her other hand in his, he held it close to his chest. Close enough for her to splay her fingers out over it if she wanted to. But when his thumb brushed the back of her hand, she kept it in his. Focused on the soft, smooth strokes moving back and forth over her skin as he held her, his grip relaxed around it.

“Don’t wanna fail you now. Leaving you all cold and bothered like that? Make me one shitty-ass compadre if I did.”

Her face was warm when she turned it into her pillow. Almost hopelessly so as she peered over at him, catching the pout he was wearing. It was ridiculous and wonderful, and only he’d find a way to pull it off.

“Shark, I don’t think you could be shitty if you tried.”

Over his hoodie, she didn’t feel much, but she imagined she’d feel his heartbeat if he wasn’t wearing it. Beating steady under her fingertips, and comforting in its own right. The whole of him even warmer than he already was this close to her, and she wanted to wrap herself up in every inch of it.

Her eyelids started to droop, closing more with each blink, and she turned her hand so she could try to twine her fingers with his.

They weren’t aligned right, but she felt him shift too. Moving to give her just enough space to wind them together, and hold on tight.


End file.
